Medical Support Assistant (Advanced)

Veterans Health Administration

Lyons (NJ)

On-site

USD 54,000 - 70,000

Full time

3 days ago

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Benefits offered by this job

Paid Time Off

Parental Leave

Federal pension

Job summary

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is seeking an Advanced Medical Support Assistant for VA New Jersey Health Care System. The role provides cross-coverage between East Orange and Lyons campuses, supporting daily team operations and coordinating patient care.

The incumbent communicates with Veterans via secure messaging and scheduling tools, screens patients, inputs data into VISTA/VS GUI, and helps manage wait lists and referrals to ensure timely appointments.

Qualifications

Administrative screening of veterans to determine the nature of medical problems and provide administrative assistance as required.
Frequent data entry and processing in VISTA/VS GUI for admissions, discharges, follow-up, and referrals.

Responsibilities

Coordinate with team members to review clinic utilization and ensure clinic setup supports patient needs.
Educate patients and families about scheduling protocols and secure messaging tools.
Enter appropriate information into the electronic record and manage the electronic wait list.
Participate in team huddles and plan patient care to ensure continuity of care.

Skills

Administrative support

Patient scheduling

Tools

VISTA/VS GUI

Job description

Department: Department of Veterans Affairs

The Advance Medical Support Assistance (AMSA) is a position located in the Health Administration Service (HAS) of VA New Jersey Healthcare System (VANJHS). The VANJHS is an integrated level 1C system comprising of two (comprehensive healthcare) facilities in East Orange and Lyons, and eleven Community Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOCs) located throughout the state.

Key Responsibilities

VA Careers - Medical Support Assistant: https://youtube.com/embed/EE9c4XkaELo The Advanced Medical Support Assistant will provides cross coverage between East Orange and Lyons campus regardless of duty station assignment on record. The Advance MSA participates in the daily team meetings where the group reviews individual patient requirements and formulates a plan for delivering the optimal level of care in the appropriate setting.

As a member of the team, the Advance MSA has a collective responsibility with other team members for the ongoing care of all patients. The incumbent will proactively engage with Veterans through multiple avenues to include MyHealtheVet (secure messaging), VetLink, VAOS, recall system or in person. Educates other members of the care team about scheduling protocol, including application of the Electronic Wait List (EWL), NEAR List and MISSION Act timeliness requirements.

Incumbent provides information to and receives patients reporting for scheduled and unscheduled visits; processes and directs patients in an expedient and efficient manner. Incumbent is also required to administratively screen all Veterans to determine the nature of medical problems and provide administrative assistance as required.

Duties require frequent data input and processing functions in VISTA/VS GUI for admissions, discharges, follow-up and/or referral appointment, means test, ICB capture and other administrative processes. The Advanced MSA coordinates with team members to review clinic utilization and ensures that the clinic setup is closely monitored to effectively support the needs of the clinic, making necessary adjustments as needed.

S/he develops/maintains effective and efficient communication with the patient, interdisciplinary team, VA medical centers, and other agencies.

May be tasked with assisting with communications with staff inside and outside the facility; communicating with non-VA medical facilities; processing secure messaging requests from the patient to the team; notifying patients of normal lab results; developing and managing a tracking system for follow up care such as consults, tests, etc.

Other assignments at this level include, but are not limited to: participating in team huddles and team meetings to manage and plan patient care; setting priorities and deadlines, adjusting the flow and sequencing of the work to meet team and patient needs; may work with the team to reinforce the plan of care and self-help solutions and entering appropriate information into the electronic record; monitoring pre-appointment requirements to assure readiness for patient visit/procedure (e.g., X-ray, lab work); managing electronic wait list to verify and validate accuracy and resolve issues; participating and providing input in problem solving on operational issues or procedures in team meetings, performing administrative follow up actions; participating in and independently following up on team huddles by sharing information and collaborating with the medical team to assure continuity of care; evaluating patient information and clinic schedule lists to determine whether patient is vested; educating providers about share patients (those who receive their care at multiple VAs or those who have care in the community) and bringing to the attention of the provider.

AMSA will perform other duties as assigned. Work Schedule: 8am to 4:30pm Monday through Friday. Recruitment/Relocation Incentives (Sign-on Bonus): Not authorized. Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not authorized. Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases.

When setting pay, a higher step rate of the appropriate grade may be determined after consideration of higher or unique qualifications or special needs of the VA (Above Minimum Rate of the Grade).

Paid Time Off: 37-50 days of annual paid time offer per year (13-26 days of annual leave, 13 days of sick leave, 11 paid Federal holidays per year) Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior [work experience] or military service experience. Parental Leave: After 12 months of employment, up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave in connection with the birth, adoption, or foster care placement of a child.

Child Care Subsidy: After 60 days of employment, full time employees with a total family income below $144,000 may be eligible for a childcare subsidy up to 25% of total eligible childcare costs for eligible children up to the monthly maximum of $416.66.

Retirement: Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA Insurance: Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement) Telework: Not authorized. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #:21W72-A Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized.

Requirements & Education

Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education.

For further information, visit: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.

Which agency is hiring for this position?

This position is with Veterans Health Administration, Department of Veterans Affairs.

What is the salary for this position?

The posted pay range is $53512 – $69565/yr.

What security clearance is required?

This position requires a Other security clearance.

What is the application deadline?

Applications close on 2026-11-12.

Who is eligible to apply?

This position is open under the 'Public' hiring path.